Synopses & Reviews
Engineered in Japan presents a unique and comprehensive examination of technology management in the most successful Japanese companies: unique in that all chapters go beyond superficial descriptions of stylized practices to look in depth at particular issues, often contradicting or qualifying the conventional wisdom; comprehensive in that it covers the entire technology life cycle from basic R&D, to development engineering, to manufacturing processes, to learning from the Japanese.
Each chapter is based on original research by noted scholars in the field, and identifies technology management practices that have become a major source of competitive advantage for highly successful Japanese companies. Engineered in Japan documents the best practices from such companies as Toyota, Hitachi, Toshiba, and Nippondenso, and discusses how these technology management practices can be usefully adopted in other cultural contexts.
Going beyond past observations, the authors all delve below the surface of Japanese management approaches. They look more closely than has been done before at how particular methods are applied, and they identify some new practices that have not yet been highlighted in books on Japanese methods. Presenting recent data that contradict some conventional thinking about U.S.-Japanese differences, they look at old techniques from a new perspective.
"U.S. managers can perhaps learn more from the process of creation in Japan and the organizational structures that support innovation," say the editors in their introduction, "than from the particular approaches, tools, and technologies created." A running theme throughout the book is that Japanese managers and engineers tend to think in terms of systems, focusing not just on the parts but on the connections between them. Engineered in Japan is must reading for technology managers and engineers, along with anyone interested in Japanese business, engineering, and management.
Review
"The particular benefit of this book is that it distinguishes a technology life cycle and analyzes each of its stages: research and development, process and product development, manufacturing management and methods, technology deployment, and organizational learning."--Booklist
"In the end, the edited volume provides a smorgasbord for readers: some will try every offering, others will sample only those which are most appealing."--Journal of Product Innovation Management
Synopsis
Engineered in Japan: Japanese Technology-Management Practices presents a unique and comprehensive examination of technology management in the most successful Japanese companies. Each chapter is based on original research by noted scholars in the field, and identifies technology management practices that have become a major source of competitive advantage for highly successful Japanese companies. Engineered in Japan documents the best practices from such companies as Toyota, Hitachi, Toshiba, and Nippondenso, and discusses how these technology management practices can be usefully adopted in other cultural contexts. "U.S. managers can perhaps learn more from the process of creation in Japan and the organizational structures that support innovation," say the editors in their introduction, "than from the particular approaches, tools, and technologies created." A running theme throughout the book is that Japanese managers and engineers tend to think in terms of systems, focusing not just on the parts but on the connections between them. Engineered in Japan is must reading for technology managers and engineers, along with anyone interested in Japanese business, engineering, and management.
Synopsis
How have the findings of academic criminologists affected the development of public policy? This is the central question addressed by this collection of essays, which explore the complex relationship between research and policy making.
The Criminological Foundations of Penal Policy is a volume in honour of Roger Hood, Professor of Criminology and Director of the Centre for Criminological Research in the University of Oxford.
Table of Contents
Contributors
1. Engineering in Japan: Introduction and Overview, Jeffrey K. Liker, John E. Ettlie, and John Creighton Campbell
I. Applied R&D
2. Basic Research in Japanese Electronic Companies: An Attempt at Establishing New Organizational Routines, David T. Methé
3. The Growth of R&D Investment and Organizational Changes by Japanese Pharmaceutical Firms, 1975-1993, Thomas Roehl, Will Mitchell, and Ronald J. Slattery
4. Governance Structure and Technology Transfer Management in R&D Consortia in the United States and Japan, Howard E. Aldrich and Toshihiro Sasaki
5. Governing United States - Japan High-Technoloy Alliances, Richard N. Osborn and C. Christopher Baughn
II. Product-Process Development Practices
6. Nippondenso Co. Ltd.: A Case Study of Strategic Product Design, Daniel E. Whitney
7. Integrating Suppliers into Fast-Cycle Product Development, Jeffrey K. Liker, Rajan R. Kamath, S. Nazli Wasti, and Mitsuo Nagamachi
8. Toyota, Concurrent Engineering, and Set-Based Design, Allen Ward, Durward K. Sobek II, John J. Cristiano, and Jeffrey K. Liker
9. Competing in the Old-Fashioned Way: Localizing and Integrating Knowledge Resources in Fast-to-Market Competition, W. Mark Fruin
III. Manufacturing Methods and Management
10. Producing a World-Class Automotive Body, Patrick C. Hammett, Walton M. Hancock, and Jay S. Baron
11. Japan's Development of Scheduling Methods for Manufacturing Semiconductors, Izak Duenyas, John W. Fowler, and Lee Schruben
12. U.S.-Japanese Manufacturing Joint Ventures and Equity Relationships, John E. Ettlie and Peter Swan
IV. Technology Deployment and Organizational Learning
13. Culture, Innovative Borrowing, and Technology Management, John Creighton Campbell
14. Does Culture Matter? Negotiating a Complementary Culture to Support Technological Innovation, Mary Yoko Brannen
15. Institutional Pressures and Organizational Learning: The Case of American-Owned Automotive-Parts Suppliers and Japanese Shop-Floor Production Methods, Thomas Y. Choi and S. Nazli Wasti
16. Reflections on Organizational Learning in U.S. and Japanese Industry, Robert E. Cole
17. Managing Technology Systemically: Common Themes, Jeffrey K. Liker, John E. Ettlie, and Allen C. Ward
Index